A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry: What does being a man mean? [Book review]

I'll be reviewing a play/book I immensely enjoy today, A Raisin In The Sun. Check out the film for sublime acting and fidelity to the play's original dialogue and stage directions.

 

The best film version of the play in my opinion.

Back to the play- what does being a man mean? What does being 'a man' mean to women? What does being a man mean to the man himself?

A Raisin in the Sun

The definition of being a man, espoused by the women in A Raisin in the Sun, is someone who takes care of the family by providing for them, and defends them against threats to their lives and their dignity.

As dignity can be such a nebulous concept, I will follow the meaning of dignity in the book rather than one I've made up in my mind. To have dignity simply means to have a right to live as equals with the rest of the world. For example, no one has the right to tell you to live somewhere purely due to your skin colour. Today, it is just known as racial prejudice.

While there are many multi-dimensional characters worth our time in the book, such as Mama, Beneatha and even Ruth, I am most interested in Walter Younger as he is the character who changes the most by the end.

Walter is an ambitious young father who desires money and class. He complains about his life and his social standing, and is essentially unhappy with who he is. He is displeased with his job. He has no self-dignity and frequently engages in self-depreciation, which comes across as rather pathetic at times. This is probably because he holds the simplistic belief that having a higher social status can make him a more dignified and important person.

Walter is also unable to provide for his family and sees himself as the child in the family who has yet to fulfil his dreams. Moreover he blames “coloured women” for not making their husbands “feel like they somebody” although it is clear that they are in hardly any position to do anything about it.

Walter thus desperately wants to invest in a business. He looks up to Charlie Atkin because he earns a lot of money. That is someone who Ruth clearly dislikes and describes as someone who talks a lot but contributes little to others. He also worries Mama by investing in a liquor business with Willy Harris, and in the play, it is implied that as a religious conservative Mama disapproves of it.

As he is so fixated on his 'dreams', Walter appears to be selfish and insensitive in the process of demanding support from the women without respecting himself or others. By the end of the play though, Walter overturns all of these initial impressions and becomes a rather likable character. I'll leave you to discover if you really agree with me, but I genuinely believe, that the ending is an optimistic one.

Why read this book? 

• Enjoy 2 hours and more of dramatic tension in the household
• Learn what a great play should feel like (intense, gripping and tight yet having a neat conclusion) 
• Engage in the various themes like race, marriage, gender and family that the play presents.